Game Camera placement safety

[srupp]

Have my first game camera and want to deploy it for spring bears...

What suggestions are there for placement without it being obvious to others..ie tracks in the snow??

Wait for snow to go?? tracks leaving the trail and looping around can still be traced??

any suggestions??experiences..

steven

[OutWest]

I always bolt mine to a tree in a bear box and put a lock on it. I would throw a lock on it at the very least. Haven't had any bad experiences other than some dumbass throwing the finger up. Funny thing was he thought he avoided having his picture taken. Been contemplating putting that pic up for awhile now.

There's only so much you can do. If someone really wants to steal your camera they will find a way to do it. Bear box and a good cable lock make it a fair bit tougher for them to do it though.

[canishunter22-250]

I always put mine out for spring bears too, and I find that it's not just the two legged creatures that you've gotta hide it from.
Every time I have caught a bear on the camera, it's been ripped off the tree a couple seconds later. Good idea to get some kind of bear-proof case for it probably. I now have a camera with a bear tooth hole right through it, still works fine though.
What I do is set it up on a cutline or trail where I expect nobody to be walking by, and then I build a bit of a fortification around the tree using brush and what not - so a bears can't reach it as easily. If they really want it, they'll get it though.

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j396/canishunter22-250/SUNP0007.jpg
http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j396/canishunter22-250/SUNP0006.jpg

[BiG Boar]

My suggestion is try it out at home for two weeks in a place you will walk by daily. Nothing worse than going back to your cam after a month only to find the settings were wrong. ie- sensitivity.

Also note branches are heavy when wet.

[260]

Unless you wait for the snow to melt there is not much you can do to hide it. A cable lock is about the only deterrent for someone walking off with it if they want it. For the four legged thief that might be interested in taking your camera, I have seen people strap their camera to a board that has nails through it (around the edge of the camera) which has kept the bears away from it. Good Luck!

[DR800]

Tape a note on it saying: "Did you find the one taking pics of this one ?"

[dragonslayer]

Set up a 12 gauge with a string on the opposite side of your cam, and have a sign that say's "now watch this". They will either back off or steal both. LOL

[proguide66]

I put a couple cams in a place with 'potential' for somene to see last yr. I decided to put em 8 ft up a tree angled down to the trail , I almost walked by em trying to find em again.
Was also thinking of crushing up moth balls and loading em in the battery compartment...moth balls work for our cabins.

[BlacktailStalker]

Lost two with cable locks.
Its part of owning a trail cam. Put something useful or valuable out, expect to lose it. Welcome to today.

[srupp]

thanks


steven

[ianwuzhere]

The more remote the better for theft of people. Animals, especially elk are very curious to cams, ive had them lick em, fog em up, and remove my cam from the tree.
I got one stolen from on the edge of a grassy/swamp area on a dead tree, had no lock but was off the beaten path- well thats what i thought till i seen tracks to my cam :(
-some sort of lock for sure.. I havent had any bears mess with my cams but i dont get many bear pix..
Good luck, its like xmas when you get a good location and animals passing often- makes me very anxious to check wuz on the card...I find a salt block on a trail keeps the animals around longer- getting better and more pix..

[hunter1947]

When I put my trail cam out in the snow I like to put it out when it is snowing out and when I check the trail cam I like checking it when it is snowing out.

[Springer]

Steve i built a cage for mine and welded a chain to it for security then painted it tree camo like. I have only caught Deer and coyotes and a guy shed hunting that walked by ,so i moved it before it went missing. The critters seem to know something foreign is in their backyard and they check out the camera with their noses.. careful it can become addicting waiting to check your SD card.

[bassplayer]

Tape a note on it saying: "Did you find the one taking pics of this one ?"
Funny you say that. I have a note hanging from mine that says "Smile A$$hole. You're on Camera This Time". It will give them something to think about. I had someone try to reef my one cam off the tree and some prick took it upon himself last fall to remove the memory card from my other camera. I hope these clowns don't consider themselves to be outdoors men? The people that pull this crap with stealing cams obviously know what they are to begin with. Just happy i had mine cable locked. My Moultrie cam i spray painted a darker green with some black stripes as the color it originally came in stood out like a sore thumb against a tree.

[kgriz]

As for the comment about posting a picture of somebody fingering your camera....I wouldn't...I'm no lawyer but I would expect posting people's pictures or even taking them without permission is probably some sort of infringement of rights and illegal...I would expect that one should technically provide a sign nearby saying pictures are being taken...it is public/crown property most of the time.

[kgriz]

I anticipate that as more cameras make it into the woods...the legallity of it will be questionned sooner or later.

[kgriz]

i investigated it a bit....things suggest that its prob ok in a "public place" but prob not OK to post anywhere without permission. Just what I looked at quickly...not necessarily the for sure law.

[seanps]

.I'm no lawyer but I would expect posting people's pictures or even taking them without permission is probably some sort of infringement of rights and illegal

Journalist here. Generally, it's legal to take pictures of anybody in a public place, and -- within reason -- you can do just about anything with the pictures. (This doesn't hold true with children in the same way, however).

In other words, I could walk up to you on the street and take pictures of you to my heart's content, and then post them online to a kgriz fan club website.

(I will not do this, FYI). :-)

[srupp]

HMMM wasn not aware of animals taking a liking and a licking to cameras...good point about branches under weight of snow..

steven

[rocksteady]

I built a homemade cage of angle iron that I bolt to the tree with 8" lag bolts....Then the trail cam slides into the cage and is locked with a piece of heavy duty chain. I will take some pictures and post tonight if I remember...

Only took me about an hour to weld up woth the scraps I had lying around....

[rocksteady]

As promised...

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/Trail%20cam%20mount/100_1908.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/Trail%20cam%20mount/100_1907.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c372/rocksteadyrifle/Trail%20cam%20mount/100_1906.jpg

[rocksteady]

I forgot to mention, mine is built for a Moultrie, so you may have to change your design to fit your specific model...

I built mine out of some spare angle iron and the internal back support from a thrashed steno type chair...

[Leaseman]

Finally going to use it eh Rupster.... should I send Nick up to give you a hand....:mrgreen:

[srupp]

hmmmm technology aint it sweeeet.....Ya Nick would have this solved yesterday...

steven

[hunter1947]

This is my set up.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/P8010008.JPG (javascript:;)